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ARBA LANKTOFS USEFUL LEOTUEES, No. 1. 



CURIOSITY 







PRICE, TEN CENTS. 



1881. 

Published for Arba Lankton's Total Abstinence and Anti-Tobacco Society, by 
The Case, Lockwood & Brainard Co., Hartford, Conn. 



Twenty-five or more copies, rate, $5. 00 per hundred. 



ARBA LANKTON'S 

Total Atistinenee and Anti-Tobacco Society, 



HARTFORD, CONN. 



Any person willing to give tracts or good papers for 
distribution, or to contribute money toward the expenses 
of Arba Lankton's Total Abstinence and Anti-Tobacco 
Society, will please either hand the money to him, or send 
it by mail to Arba Lankton, President, Treasurer, and 
Secretary, and the amount shall be strictly devoted to the 
object for which it is given. 

Temperance and anti-tobacco tracts and papers are needed 
for general distribution. The field should be occupied by the 
public speaker. Who then will be the first to give us some 
money to meet the necessary expenses of the work. " The 
Lord loveth a cheerful giver." How much will you give ? 

Arba Lankton, of Hartford, Conn., is prepared, and 
would be glad of opportunities to lecture, either in Churches 
or Halls, upon the following subjects: 



1. 


Curiosity. 


2. 


Halting. 


3. 


Gospel Invitation. 


4. 


Intemperance; or, Out of the Way. 


5. 


Interesting Incidents in the Life of Arba Lankton 




and others. 


6. 


Liberality is Self-Beneficial. 


7. 


Stand Fast in the Faith. 


8. 


Temperance and Anti-Tobacco; or, Who Should be 




the Most Thankful ? 


9. 


Wisdom of Temperance contrasted with the Folly 




of Intemperance. 


10. 


Will it Pay ? 



Entered according to Act of Congress by Arba Lankton, 1881. 



CURIOSITY 




PK1CE, TEN CENTS. 



■:. 



1©S1. 



Published for Arba Lankton's Total Abstinence and Anti-Tobacco Society, by 
The Case, Lockwood & Brainard Co., Hartford, Conn. 



& 



CURIOSITY. 



The subject of our present consideration is Curiosity. 
Let us divide our subject into four parts. 

1st, What is Curiosity? 

2d, Who are Curious ? 

3d, Notice some of the benefits and also some of the 
evils resulting from Curiosity. 

4th, When are we curious ? 

And first, let us inquire, What is Curiosity? Web- 
ster gives the definition of this word as, "A strong 
desire to see something novel, or to discover something 
unknown, either by research or inquiry ; a desire to 
gratify the senses with a sight of what is new or un- 
usual, or to gratify the mind with new discoveries ; 
inquisitiveness." Again, a Curiosity is an object 
of Curiosity; that which excites a desire of seeing, as 
novel and extraordinary. 

Curiosity in the mind springs from the faculty 
called causality. Fowler, the phrenologist, gives the 
definition of causality as perception and application of 
causation ; ability to discover first principles and trace 
out the relation existing between causes and effects ; 
a desire to know the why and wherefore of things, and 
investigate their laws ; ability to reason from causes 
down to effects, and from effects to causes. 




The faculty of causality is numbered 36 by Fowler, 
and is located at the outer portion of the upper part 
of the forehead. When amply developed it widens 
and expands the upper portion of the forehead, or 
causes it to project forward and hang over, as in the 
engravings of Tyndal and Locke. It is also very large 
in the engraving of Bacon, but small in that of the 
idiot. It is large in that of Herschel, as seen in the 
expanse of his forehead and the prominences at this 
point ; but retreats in Burritt. In Franklin this or- 
gan was immensely developed, and his talents form an 
excellent example of the cast of mind which it imparts. 

Causation reigns supreme throughout nature. Our 
world is made up of causes and effects. Every effect 
must have its specific cause, and every cause produces 
its own effect. 

Uniformity and law govern everything. Without 
this arrangement all would be zig-zag chance. Man 
would rely on nothing ; could effect nothing, and, 
therefore, enjoy nothing. 

Curiosity inquires after the cause of events. If a 
boiler explodes everybody inquires, What made it blow 
up ? If the cars run off the track, or break through a 
wire bridge, a general inquiry is made after the cause 
of the accident, and how many were killed or wound- 
ed ; and the people are curious as to who is to 
blame for the accident, and to learn ail about the affair 
possible. Wise and good men desire to know the 
cause of the accident, so that, if possible, to prevent its 
occurrence again. 

Curiosity was illustrated in the picture representing 
a mother, who, with uplifted rod, stood over her boy 



ready to punish him for cutting the bellows open, be- 
cause he was curious to know where the wind came 
from. Again, it was curiosity that led the boy to 
come up behind his sister and look over her shoulder 
while she was seated on the park reading a letter from 
her lover. 

What intense Curiosity we sometimes feel as we go 
to the post office ivondering whether there is a letter or 
newspaper for us. If there is a letter Curiosity asks, 
Who is it from ? and then, What do they say ? Must 
we answer the letter ? and When ? 

What curious things people sometimes say. " Bridg- 
et ! Bridget ! why don't you bring up the lemonade ?" 
said Mrs. S., on the Fourth of July, from the top of 
the kitchen stairs. " Why, Marm," said Bridget, 
wiping the sweat from her face with her checked 
apron ; " Why Marm, you see, the ice I put in the 
lemonade is so hard that it hasn't melted yet, 'though 
its stirring it over the fire I've been for the last fifteen 
minutes or more." One man in speaking about his 
killing a cat said that he took her out and chopped 
off her head, and in the night she came into the house 
mewing with her head in her mouth. 

A lawyer in court in defending a man who was 
charged with shooting a dog said, " Gentlemen of the 
Jury, you have heard the witnesses state that they 
saw the prisoner aim the gun at the dog ; also that 
they saw the flash from the gun, but where, Gentle- 
tlemen of the Jury, where, I say, is the man who saw 
the bullet hit that dog ? " 

What Curiosity we feel when about to take a 
journey. What will be the weather? Shall we be 
1* 



6 

ready in time? Shall we have money enough to paj 
our expenses ? And the more important the occasion 
of our journey is the greater will be the Curiosity felt 
concerning it. 

When Mr. Morse was engaged in laying the first 
ocean telegraph wire, as the ship drew near the shore, 
so great was his curiosity and excitement as to whether 
the undertaking would succeed or not, that when at 
last it did succeed, and the two* continents were thus 
united as never before, Mr. Morse fainted and fell back 
upon the ship's floor. 

Let us now consider the second part of our subject — 
Who are Curious ? 

The merchant is curious. Every morning the curi- 
ous question arises in his mind, What shall be my 
success to-day ? And so with each week, month, and 
year as they pass, and the more diligent and hopeful 
he is the more curious he is as to the results. And as 
the periods of time pass by he, in curiosity, reviews 
the past, considers his success or failures, and endeav- 
ors to profit by his experience. And so it is with the 
public speaker. With what anxious curiosity does he 
look forward to the time of his speaking, wondering 
as to the results of his effort. 

There is curiosity with the student, the preacher, 
the missionary, and, in fact, with everybody and every- 
where. Fathers and mothers are curious about the 
welfare of their children. A good illustration of this 
is found in the history of David, and Absalom, his 
son. Ministers of the gospel are curious about the 
state of salvation in the souls of their congregations. 

The Rev. Henry Morgan, in a lecture, once related 



an incident of this kind. He spoke of a time when he 
went and called on an unconverted lady, and tried to 
lead her attention to serious conversation about relig- 
ion. But she was careless and unmoved,* having her 
attention taken up with her little boy, who was playing 
about the house. Quite a long time afterward Mr. 
Morgan again visited the place and called on this 
woman. He inquired after her soul's interest. She 
led him into the room where the bureau stood, and 
with tears in her eyes, she showed him the garments 
her little boy used to wear, and told him that, like as 
the shepherd who cannot drive the sheep into the fold, 
takes up the little lamb first and carries that into the 
fold, and then the sheep will follow. So when this 
lady would not give her heart to God He took her lit- 
tle boy, and thereby led her to give her heart to Christ 
and follow Him and prepare for the fold of heaven. 

Curiosity is often manifested when people see chil- 
dren sign the temperance pledge. It is said that chil- 
dren do not know what they are doing. They won't 
keep the pledge. Said one, " I want to see the cause 
of temperance go forward, but I disapprove of your 
movement among the children." For what reason do 
you think? " Because," he says, "you ask them to 
sign the pledge, which is wrong, as they won't keep it." 
Our friend is a good man, but we think he is mis- 
taken here. Children won't keep the pledge! I wish 
that all the adults kept the pledge as well as the boys 
and girls do ; the world would exhibit much less back- 
sliding and much less misery. 

Children know and feel what they do when they 
sign the pledge much better than most people are 



willing to give them credit for. Some years ago a 
gentleman in Virginia had a boy six years' of age who 
wanted to sign the pledge. But the father, feeling 
that his son* did not understand the obligation he was 
about to take upon himself, refused to give him per- 
mission. But the boy was so importunate, and begged 
so hard, that he at last consented, though he felt sure, 
almost, that his son would break it. His father was 
a temperance man, and so were the rest of the family, 
and when this little boy had signed the pledge they 
were all tetotalers. Not long after this the father was 
traveling. The stage stopped at a tavern, and he 
called for some water. He waited some time and no 
answer. He called again ; still no answer. At last 
the servant came, bringing a glass of cider instead. 
He was very thirsty, and being afraid he should get 
nothing else, drank it, in violation of his pledge. 
When he returned home he related the circumstance, 
and the little boy was there. After he had finished, 
the little boy went up to him, his lips quivering and 
his eyes full of tears. Said he, "Father, how far 
were you from James River when you drank that 
cider?" "I was fifteen miles from James River, my 
son." "Well, father, I'd have walked to James River 
and back again before I would have broken my pledge." 
That was a curious reply of a boy to his father. 

Now let me put a curious question. What do you 
think will become of the little boy, about two years' 
old, whose father I saw at a Fenwick picnic hold a 
bottle of wine to his boy's mouth and let him drink 
two or three swallows, while about the same time two 
friends and also the father and mother drank of the 
same bottle? Truly, unless there is some great 




change, that boy will grow up to be a drunkard and 

die an inebriate. 

What good can it do 
To smoke and to chew, 
To swear and to drink, 
And never to think. 

What will the end be ? 

There was curiosity in the woman's mind when she 
asked a young man of her acquaintance at a party 
to take a glass of strong drink. At first he refused, 
but by banter and ridicule she persuaded him to take 
the drink. "And now," said he to a friend, " I drink 
until I die." He continued to go down, drinking 
excessively a few short weeks, and died a drunkard's 
death. Curiosity as to the results of our actions 
would lead that woman, when she heard of his death, 
to inquire reflectively, " Am I not responsible for that 
man's fall and death by drunkenness?" 

A curious fact is related of an artist, who painted 
the picture of a most beautiful boy, and hung it up in 
his room. Many years afterward the same artist 
wanted to paint a picture for contrast to hang up in 
his room. He went down on to the street and selected 
a most miserably looking drunkard and brought him 
up into his room. After painting his picture he hung 
it up by the side of the picture of the little boy which 
had been taken many years before. When placed 
side by side the artist noticed some slight resemblance 
between the two pictures. It was soon ascertained 
that the two pictures were of the same person. The 
beautiful boy had afterward indulged in drinking 
strong drink, and followed this course until he became 
a poor, miserable drunkard. 







10 

As we gaze upon the drunkard staggering across 
our pathway, curiosity asks, what made this man such 
a wreck of humanity? One answer is, because he was 
not in youth pledged to total abstinence, and now 
he is but the wreck of his former self. And such a 
shocking wreck is he, with his tattered clothes, and 
his battered nose, and a gait like a ship at sea. 

I once read a little temperance tract entitled Crys- 
tal's Prayer. She read some sweet promises in the 
new testament, and one, " The prayer of faith shall 
save the sick," took strong hold of her little heart. 
" Why not the sin-sick as well ?" she thought ; and 
she believed it. She stole away to ask God to bless 
and save her dear father, and keep him from doing 
that which had long made them all very unhappy — 
not to let him drink any more rum. It was a very 
earnest wish she carried to her father above. Two 
fathers heard the prayer. God heard it from his high 
and holy throne, and her own poor father, whom she 
dearly loved, had opened the door and walked in so 
gently that Crystal did not know it, and with bowed 
head and eyes filled with tears, he had listened while 
his little daughter pleaded for his rescue. He was not 
ashamed to have Crystal know this, for when she came 
out of her little room he caught her in his arms and 
said, " You have saved me, Crystal; I shall sign the 
pledge." 

I once read some poetry entitled " One glass more : " 

Stay, mortal, stay! nor heedless thus 

Thy sure destruction seal ; 
Within that cup there lurks a curse, 

Which all who drink shall feel. 



11 

Disease and death forever nigh, 

Stand ready at the door, 
And eager wait to hear the cry 

Of " Give me one glass more."* 

Go view the prisoners' gloomy cells, 

There sin and misery scan ; 
Gaze, gaze upon these earthly hells — 

In drink their woes began. 

Of yonder children bathed in tears, 

Ask, why is mother poor ? 
They whisper in thy startled ears, 

" 'Twas father's one glass more." 

Stay, mortal, stay! repent, return! 

Reflect upon thy fate ; 
The poisonous draught forever spurn; 

Spurn, spurn it, ere too late. 

: Oh ! fly the horrid ale-house then, 

Nor linger at the door; 
Lest thou perchance should'st sip again 
The treach'rous one glass more. 

Trust not to thy deceitful heart, 

The Saviour's grace implore ; 
Through him from every sin depart. 

And touch that glass no more. 

Third, Let us notice some of the benefits and also 
some of the evils resulting from curiosity. 

1st. Proper curiosity affords pleasure to the mind. 
It is said in holy writ, that "pleasant words doeth 
good like a medicine." Another benefit of curiosity 
is, that it acts in very much the same way as hope, to 
stimulate us to work and try to gain the great objects 
of life. It causes the medical student to examine the 
dead bodies of men and animals, in order to learn as 
much as possible concerning -our human system. It 
was by curiosity that a young man became a good 



12 



astronomer, by watching the stars a little while every 
night after ringing the church bell for 9 o'clock. 
Botanists, geologists, and men of all professions are 
led on and helped by curiosity. 

Consider what are some of the evils resulting from 
curiosity when not properly controlled. It leads us 
to pry into other people's affairs ; to listen to and re- 
peat the various scandals that are going around the 



neighborhood. 

I once 
Growth : ' : 



read some poetry entitled " Rumor's 




" Says Gossip One to Gossip Two, 

While shopping in the town, 
Old Mrs. Pry to me remarked, 

Smith bought his goods from Brown. 

" Says Gossip Two to Gossip Three, 

When buying her a gown, 
I've heard it said to-day, my dear, 
Smith got his goods of Brown. 

' ' Says Gossip Three to Gossip Four, 

With something of a frown, 
I've heard strange news — what do you think ? 

Smith took his goods from Brown. 

' ' Then Gossip Four to Gossip Five, 

Who blazed it round the town, 
I've heard to-day such shocking news! 

Smith stole his goods from Brown. " 

Curiosity must be governed by good common sense 
and a right principle within, or it will lead us to neglect 
our duty and become a snare to us. Many persons 
have been led by curiosity to begin reading a bad book, 
or immoral newspaper, and it has led on to much in- 
jury, both of the mind, the heart, and the character 
of the reader. 




13 

There is one more great evil resulting from ex- 
cessive curiosity, in that it leads people to have too 
much regard for the opinions of others. The Bible 
tells us, that " the fear of man bringeth a snare." 
Mauy a person has been led to act the part of the base 
hypocrite, both in religion and in all the ordinary 
duties of life, from this excessive curiosity about what 
other people would think and say about it. It causes 
men to try to live in accordance with the customs of 
other people ; bringing every power of the soul in sub- 
jection to the god of fashion to follow the pride of 
life, to the ruin of themselves, both for this life and 
for the world to come. But those who are too much 
inclined to indulge in curiosity should take hold with 
the iron hand of self-control, and with God's help, 
strive against this foolish notion. 

Curiosity should be cultivated, for if properly de- 
veloped, it will confer a capability of being very useful, 
both to ourselves and also to others. Its proper cul- 
tivation will be needed in studying human nature. 
Curiosity will lead us to note and spell out all the lit- 
tle things said and done. Here, especially, straws 
show which way the wind blows. 

Little things will often put you on the track of the 
entire character and tell the hidden story effectually, 
because done unconsciously, whereas more important 
acts are guarded. As an illustrative anecdote , I 
once read of a horrible murder of a bank clerk, com- 
mitted in Rochester, about 1839, in order to effect a 
robbery. The murderer was detected as follows : A 
citizen, whose individuality, comparison, and human 
nature were very large, in passing the door of the yet 
2 



14 

unknown muderer, heard the latter order a cartman to 
take his trunk to the railroad, with an oath and in a 
harsh, peculiar manner, which arrested his attention. 
His human nature and comparison at once inquired 
what state of mind dictated the excited, imperative 
disposition manifested ? The haste required could not 
have been caused by the near approach of the cars, 
and his whole manner indicated guilt, which suggested 
that this swearing youth might be the murderer. 
Thus reflecting, the citizen turned his steps to the 
depot, where he saw the luckless youth consulting 
stealthily and earnestly with his guilty participators 
in crime, which, with other combinations of his sus- 
picions, he communicated to the bystanders, who, of 
course, narrowly scrutinized the murderous gang. The 
latter, seeing themselves thus closely eyed, took flight, 
and in attempting to flee and hide their booty, exposed 
and revealed the dreadful secret. As we consider 
this anecdote we see that it was curiosity rightly di- 
rected that detected the murderer. 

Let us now consider the Fourth part of our subject, 
or, When are we Curious ? 

One time is when we go to visit the poor or unfor- 
tunate and see how they are situated. One cold 
winter day some persons went to visit a poor young 
girl, kept at home by a lame hip. The room was on 
the north side of a bleak house. It was not a pleasant 
prospect without, nor was there much that was pleas- 
ant or cheerful within. Poor girl ; what a cheerless 
life she has of it, they thought. " You never have any 
sun," one said to her. " Not a ray comes in at these 
windows. That I call a misfortune. Sunshine is 



15 

everything. I love the sun." " Oh," she answered, 
with the sweetest smile they ever saw, " my sun pours 
in at every window, and even through the cracks." 
The visitor looked surprised. " The Son of Right- 
eousness," she said, softly. " Jesus ; He shines in 
here and makes everything bright to me." They 
could not doubt her. She looked happier than any 
one they had seen for many a day. Yes, Jesus shin- 
ing in at the window can make any spot beautiful, 
every home happy. 

There is great curiosity sometimes at new improve- 
ments, discoveries, and inventions. I have read that 
the first newspaper established in North America was 
" The Boston News Letter," the first number of which 
appeared on Monday, April 24th, 1704. It was first 
issued by John Campbell, and was regularly published 
for nearly seventy-two years. 

The first successful steam locomotive in the world 
was invented by George Stephenson, and is now on 
exhibition in a public square at Darlington, England. 
Mr. Stephenson was called the craziest man in Eng- 
land, on account of his trying to build a Steam Loco- 
motive. A railroad for horse draught had been com- 
pleted from Stockton to Darlington, on Sept. 27, 
1825, and he was allowed to try his locomotive on 
said road. Six wagons loaded with coal and flour, a 
covered coach containing the Directors and their 
friends, twenty-one coal wagons filled with passengers, 
and six more wagons loaded with coal, were attached 
to the locomotive. A large number of people were 
present on horseback and on foot, who ridiculed the 
new-fangled enterprise, and were ready to make sport 
of his supposed failure. 



16 

Then, George Stephenson, inventor and builder of 
locomotive engine No. 1, headed the procession. The 
engine started off with this immense train of vehicles. 
A man who rode on horseback before the locomotive to 
herald the coming of the train, was compelled to 
leave the track. The arrival at Stockton excited very 
deep interest and admiration, and Mr. Stephenson was 
no longer the craziest, but one of the smartest men in 
all England, and in all the world. 

The first steamboat in the world was invented and 
built in Philadelphia, Pa., by John Fitch, of Wind- 
sor, Conn. 

After many disappointments and misfortunes in ap- 
plying steam to the propulsion of vessels, Mr. Fitch 
finally triumphed over repeated failures. An engrav- 
ing and description of the boat was prepared, and was 
published in the " Columbian Magazine " for Decem- 
ber, 1786. Successful experiments on the Delaware 
River, Philadelphia, were made in the years 1786, 
'87, '88, '89, and in 1790 he run a regular packet by 
steam for passengers and freight on the Delaware 
river, which, for more than three months made regu- 
lar successful trips between Philadelphia and certain 
towns on said river, with ease and safety, and without 
material stoppage, accident, or delay. 

The second steamboat in the world was invented by 
Mr. Symington, in England. It was tried in 1788, 
but only practically succeeded in 1801. 

The third steamboat in the world was invented by 
Robert Fulton, and his first experiments were made 
at Plombieres, in 1803, whilst his triumphs on the 
Hudson were delayed until 1807, twenty-one years 



y 



17 

after Fitch propelled his first skiff steamboat on the 
Delaware river. 

There was curiosity once in the mind of the captain of 
another ship, of whom I heard. His ship was on fire 
and they were making all possible speed toward the 
shore. 

Said the Captain to the Pilot, 

"John Maynard!" 

"Aye, Aye, Sir." 

" Can you hold on for five minutes longer ? 7 ' 

"By the help of God I will, sir." 

And he did hold on. The burning ship drew nearer 
and nearer to the shore. At last it touched, in time 
for all to escape but the faithful pilot, who was sur- 
rounded by the flames, and burned to death. 

But when is there Curiosity ? 

The little babe has Curiosity. As soon as it opens 
its eyes with understanding, it begins to wonder, and 
in an inquisitive spirit begins to ask, Who is that 
person ? What is that thing ? What are they doing ? 
And these questions continue to arise in the mind of 
the human being, while life lasts. 

People feel that they ought to become Christians, 
now; but delay in attending to this duty. There are 
curious excuses given for this delay. Some persons 
are young in life, and they want to enjoy themselves, 
but think that religion will lessen their happiness 
here on earth. But the truth is, that the Bible offers 
to Christians a hundred fold in this life, and in the 
world to come Eternal Life. Some persons feel curi- 
ous about some noted man, like Moody, Pentecost, or 
John Wesley, coming from abroad to their place. 
2* 



18 

Some people will plan to become christians when 
Moody comes. But may it not be a trick of Satan, to 
keep you in his service ? Moody might never come ; 
or you might die first, and be lost forever. It is 
never safe, nor right, to put off to the future, what 
ought to be done now. The effects of neglected reli- 
gion were shown in an incident related at a Saybrook 
camp-meeting. A minister said.that in a meeting he 
once gave out the invitation for those who wanted 
religion, to come forward to the altar, to be prayed 
for. A woman was standing by a post in the back 
part of the room, weeping. He went to her and in- 
vited her to come then to the altar. But, no, she had 
made an engagement to be married to an unconverted 
person, and she was not willing to give up the object 
of her love, for the sake of Christ and His cause. 
The meeting closed and she was still unconverted. 
Some years afterward, the minister was riding by a 
house on horseback, when he was spoken to, and re- 
quested to come into the house. When he entered 
the house, he saw the same woman upon a bed of sick- 
ness. She spoke up to her husband and said, Joseph, 
you must not let me die, I will not die. The minister 
tried to point her to the Lamb of God, which taketh 
away the sin of the world, but she exclaimed, " its 
too late, " sank back and died. 

Friends, the Scriptures ask the solemn question, 
" What shall it profit a man, if he gain the whole 
world and lose his own soul ? " Again it is said " To- 
day if ye will hear His voice, harden not your hearts. " 

The poet says, 



19 

".No matter what my thoughts employ, 

A moments' misery or joy ; 
But Oh ! when both shall end, 

Where shall I find my destined place ? 

Shall I my everlasting days, 
With fiends, or angels spend ? " 

« Men sometimes look back for five years, and con- 
sider what was their condition in life then, compared 
with their present condition. Some were compara- 
tively rich, but now they are poor. Others were poor, 
but now they have enough for the present, and some 
in store for the future. Many there are both old and 
young, who could look back a few years, and say, 
then I stood much higher in my moral character than 
I do now. Then I was esteemed an honest man, but 
now, I have become a thief. Then I was a christian, 
but now I am a backslider. Then I loved to pray, to 
read the Bible, and attend the means of grace, but 
now, all this has been neglected, and my love for 
sacred things has become cold and indifferent, and I 
find that temptations have a greater power over me, 
and I am away down low in the ways of sin. It 
would be well if such persons would ask the question, 
" What shall the Harvest be ?" 

What Curiosity we feel when a person speaks 
about telling a story. I remember one told by a Bap- 
tist minister, up in Burke, N. Y. It might have been 
a fable, but it was a good illustration of the effect of 
little sins, so called. A large giant fell asleep on the 
ground, and some little beings, very small, tied up his 
hands and feet so strong with little strings, that when 
he awoke he was unable to get away. So with a 
young person beginning to drink strong drink, and 



20 

smoke, and chew tobacco, and form other bad habits. 
Each transgression binds the habit stronger and 
stronger, until it may be said, " Their sin is written 
with the point of a diamond." " He shall be holden 
with the cords of his sins." Only by God's help can 
we escape when once we have started down the broa4» 
road of disobedience. 

Those who have reformed, are curious as they look 
back, perhaps for three months, a year, or five years. 
Then they were drunkards, but now they are sober. 
Then they were slaves to evil habit, but now they en- 
joy the benefits of reform ; like the man I read of, 
who signed the pledge for one year, and having kept 
it to the end of the year, gained a lump on his side as 
he called it, when spoken to by the rumseller, and in- 
vited to drink, pulled out a bag of money, which was 
the lump he had spoken of. The rumseller had told him 
that the lump on his side came because he had stopped 
drinking, and that he would have another lump on the 
other side if he did not go to drinking again. The 
man laughed at the rumseller, and showing him the 
bag of money, said, "I guess I wont drink", and 
left him. 

Again, some people with curiosity look back to the 
time when they led irreligious lives. Then they were 
unhappy. Then they were " without God and with- 
out hope in the world." Then the mother's prayers 
had not been answered. But now, they are trying to 
love and obey God, and they find that " wisdom's 
ways are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are 
peace." Now they find that : 




21 

" Tis religion that can give 
Sweetest pleasures while we live, 
'Tis religion must supply 
Solid comfort when we die ; 
After death, its joys shall be 
Lasting as Eternity." 

Young people are greatly curious about their fu- 
ture condition in life. As they look around them, 
they see that some people are rich, while others are 
poor. Some are sober, industrious, and happy, while 
others are drunken, slothful, and miserable. 

The question naturally arises in the mind, what 
shall my condition be ? Let such remember the words 
of the poet, 

" Whate'er thy age would reap 
Thy youth must sow ; 
For the great seed-time of 
Thy life, is now. " 

Also " what you sow to-day, you will sometime 
reap." We become very much what we earnestly 
desire to be, and we are, under God, what we make 
ourselves. We should therefore aim high. It has been 
said, — " though a man will not reach the sun, still he 
will reach higher to aim at the sun, than he would to 
aim at something on a level with himself." 

It is wise for the young, to ask God for direction, 
and then to plan for the future. We should have 
some great, and noble object before us, to which we 
may desire to attain, some great work, like Christ's 
Mission, of which we shall exclaim, " how am I 
straightened, until it be accomplished." There have 
been many illustrations of successful men, who have 
lived with one aim and purpose before them, strug- 






22 

gling against difficulties and discouragements, until at 
last, through perseverance, and God's help, they have 
triumphed gloriously. 

Dr. Kitto, in his youth, was right in supposing that 
he must make himself what he desired to be. Patron- 
age could not do it. All the wealth in the world 
could not do it. The best mental faculties could not 
accomplish it without toil. His own undivided, ear- 
nest, self-denying efforts alone, could secure the end. 
He was a sagacious youth to perceive the truth, he 
was a wise one to reduce it to practice. 

I once read a curious account of how a smoker got 
a home. He began to chew tobacco at the age of 
twelve. A few years later he commenced smoking. 
At length he united with the church. Very soon the 
question arose whether it was right to indulge in such 
a filthy and disgusting habit as chewing tobacco, and 
he was not long in deciding that it was not, and aban- 
doned it, though it cost him a severe struggle. He 
still, however, enjoyed the cigar. Just at this time he 
met a friend who was studying for the ministry. Mr. 

H , was puffing away at the cigar as usual, when 

his friend looked up with a countenance never to be 

forgotten, and said, " brother H , it don't look 

well to see a member of the church smoking ." " You 
are right," said the smoker, and taking the cigar from 
his mouth, threw it into the gutter. That was the 
last cigar he ever smoked. He then commenced sav- 
ing the money that he had so long squandered for 
tobacco. After a number of years' saving, he found 
a pleasant place for sale, and he bought it with this 
anti-tobacco money, and made his family happy. 




23 

I will now close by repeating some curious poetry 
which I once read, entitled, " The One Crop, or The 
Wily Bargain Maker:" 

" There came a man in days of old, 
To hire a piece of land for gold, 
And urged his suit in accents meek, 
One Crop alone, is all I seek ; 
That harvest o'er, my claim I yield, 
And to his lord return the field. 

The owner some misgivings felt, 
And coldly with the comer dealt ; 
But found his last objection fail, 
And honeyed eloquence prevail, 
So took the proffered price in hand, 
And for One Crop, leased out the land. 

The wily tenant sneered with pride, 
And sowed the ground with acorns wide ; 
At first, with tiny shoots they grew, 
Then broad and wide their branches threw ; 
But long before those Oaks sublime, 
Aspiring, reached their forest prime, 
The cheated landlord mouldering lay, 
Forgotten with his kindred clay. 

Oh ye whose years unfolding fair, 

Are fresh with temperance, free from care, 

Should the vile tempter e'er desire 

The garden of your heart to hire, 

No parley hold, reject his suit, 

Nor let one seed thy soul pollute. 

Young friend, of the first glass beware, 
With firmness shun the insidious snare ; 
Lest, as the acorns grew and throve, 
Into a sun -excluding grove ; 
Thy sins, a dark o'er shadowing tree, 
Shut out the light of Heaven from thee." 




IDLENESS IS SIN 



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